Unified Police offer reward for unsolved murder near Saltair
Dec 5, 2020, 5:12 PM | Updated: Aug 29, 2024, 7:26 pm
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — Unified Police detectives said they are offering $1,500 to anyone who can provide them with information to a murder that happened near Saltair this past summer.
Akosita Kaufusi’s body was found on the rocks outside Saltair on August 29.
“We do need information, and what we know is someone out there knows something. Someone out there has information,” said Sergeant Melody Gray with the Unified Police Department.
Kaufusi, 42, was shot to death, and although detectives have dealt with murder cases before, Sgt. Gray said this one was especially vicious.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” said Sgt. Gray. “Her and her family deserve some justice, and we were hoping someone out there has any little bit of information they could share with us to lead us somewhere to help find justice for these people.”
That’s why Unified Police announced a $1,500 reward for information leading to her killer.
“It’s just tragic and we have no really good leads to follow up on,” said Sgt. Gray.
During Kaufusi’s funeral in September, family members talked about how much they loved and missed her.
They also said her murder affected every single one of them.
Murder is the third leading cause of death for indigenous women. That’s why her nephews, Cebron Mountain Lion and Nate Serawop, and the entire Uintah High School Football team they play on wore masks during a game to raise awareness of the problem.
“It has been an issue with missing and murdered indigenous women,” said Sgt. Gray. “And she just happens to be one of those.”
For Kaufusi’s family, though, she is more than a statistic. She mattered.
“This is a human being. She was someone’s mother, she was someone’s daughter, she was someone’s sister, she was someone’s friend,” said Sgt. Gray. “We need to pay attention this and recognize the life that was lost here.”
